Kia Picanto GT-Line 2025 Review

The 2025 Kia Picanto GT-Line starts at $20,990 plus on-road costs (ORCs) as a five-speed manual.

There are seven colours available and all but Clear White cost $550 extra. So, optioned with a four-speed automatic transmission ($1600) and optional Adventurous Green paint ($550), the GT-Line we tested is $23,140 (plus ORCs).

The Picanto has no micro-class competitor except the $28,900 Fiat 500, which is obviously a considerable step up in price and therefore not really a direct competitor. At this entry point to new-car ownership, many are shopping on price rather than car class.

With that in mind, there’s a few more options in the small-car ranks like the MG 3 (from $21,990 drive away) and light SUVs such as the Chery Tiggo 4 (from $23,990), the Mahindra XUV 3XO (from $23,990 drive away) and the Suzuki Ignis (from $21,490 plus ORCs).

Once you add on-road costs, the Picanto GT-Line ends up around $25,000, so it’s not exactly a huge bargain compared with price-shopped alternatives. Who would’ve once thought $25k was a budget new-car price, but welcome to 2025.

Of course, there’s the entry-level $19,190 Sport manual (before ORCs) if you want a Picanto, but your budget is tight.

The Picanto comes with Kia’s seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and one-year free roadside assist. Capped-price servicing at participating Kia dealers totals $3077 over seven years (an average of $439 per service), and each service tops up roadside assist for an additional year.

The main features of the Kia Picanto GT-Line exterior include 16-inch alloy wheels (with a temporary, space-saver steel spare wheel), a GT-Line body kit, black grille and heated, power adjustable and folding side mirrors.

Inside, there’s a 4.2-inch digital dash readout, manual air-conditioning, power windows for all doors (with auto up/down function for the driver’s door), alloy pedals, height-adjustable driver’s seat, part cloth/vinyl leather-look seat upholstery, leather steering wheel and gear knob and soft-touch upholstered front door card armrests and centre armrest. Keyless locking, height adjustment (but not reach adjustment) for the steering wheel and gloss black vent and gear-lever surround cap off the inside details.

The information and technology centre housed within the 8.0-inch colour touchscreen includes features such as wireless Apple CarPlay, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (with voice recognition), AM/FM radio and six-speaker audio.

The Picanto GT-Line safety features include autonomous emergency braking (car-to-car, not including pedestrian or cyclist detection), blind spot collision avoidance, rear cross traffic avoidance, lane keeping assist, lane following assist, driver attention warning, lead vehicle departure alert, rear parking sensors and rear-view camera. Headlights are LED, offering both dusk sensing and auto high beam.

The previous Kia Picanto (2017-2023) had a four-star ANCAP rating, but under the current requirements, that is outdated and therefore the current (facelift) model is unrated. There are six airbags in the Picanto, comprising front, front side and side curtain units.

The only engine available in the Kia Picanto (now that the spicy Picanto GT with its 1.0-litre turbo triple has gone) is the 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol, producing peaks of 62kW and 122Nm.

The engine pumps out its deliverables to the front wheels via an automatic transmission that, technically, has five speeds. Sadly, one of those is reverse. Yep, it’s a four-speed unit – a fancy number for an auto back when we celebrated Bob Hawke’s victory in 1983. Now, not so much.

The 2025 Kia Picanto GT-Line gives drivers (of all types) confidence with its ease of use in the city where roads and parking spaces aren’t getting any bigger.

For that environment, small is good, and the Picanto leverages this with a tiny turning circle (9.4m), clear sightlines for the driver and of course, a short 3.5-metre body length.

The cabin isn’t as tiny as you might imagine, with even the outboard rear seats offering adequate space and comfort for adults, in part due to hollowed-out front seat backs improving knee room.

The infotainment might lack digital radio, satnav and other niceties, but it is quick and easy to operate, especially for phone mirroring (although Android users miss out on wireless).

Even though you can’t eradicate the rocking horse ride quality of a short wheelbase, lightweight car like this, Kia engineers have done a decent job of making it acceptable.

Step-off performance is quite good, and the 1.2-litre engine will work with you to provide good response when diving for traffic gaps. Even though it’s not a sophisticated auto, it does shift smoothly.

Fuel consumption, at 6.7L/100km average on test (against the 6.0L/100km claim), is not bad good considering the mostly city work we did in our week with the Picanto.

The 2025 Kia Picanto GT-Line’s performance beyond city speed limits is stretched. You’ll notice that there is a big ratio drop between first and second gear when calling in all the kilowatts, too.

The engine doesn’t sound all that relaxed spinning at about 3000rpm in fourth gear at 100km/h. At highway speeds, tyre noise also becomes intrusive.

The boot space (255L with rear seats up; 1010L with seats down) is limited, especially if you invite a few friends away on a weekend holiday. While not a deal-breaker, keyless entry/ignition would be nice to have.

Servicing at an average of $439 per service is on the expensive end of the scale for a budget priced car.

The 2025 Kia Picanto GT-Line is an easy, nimble car to drive and park in the city and economical, too.

The features list is pretty good, and while not the exception anymore, the seven-year warranty adds confidence to the purchase.

Yes, it’s fuel efficient, but the Picanto’s powertrain (especially the auto) is outdated and the lack of an ANCAP safety rating might put off first-time car buyers.

2025 Kia Picanto GT-Line at a glance:
Price: $20,490 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 62kW/122Nm
Transmission: Four-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 140g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Unrated

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